Fire & Ice
by jazzybizzle
Summary: A resurrected Princess Yue runs away from the Northern Water Tribe before anyone can discover that she's alive. And her journey's only just begun. Takes place in Book 2, then eases into 3. Zue/Kataang/Tokka pairings.


**M'kay, so I made a thing! I recently fell in love with this pairing :D**

* * *

Yue cast one last look over her shoulder, pulling her dark cloak tighter around herself. It wasn't easy for one to sneak out of the Northern Water Tribe, out of a Nation period, and especially if you were of the highest ranks.

This wasn't the first time she wished that she wasn't a princess.

According to the map she had, which she had snuck in her robes from her father's secret stash when he was out of the palace, she should reach the Earth Kingdom in a matter of days. 1 to say the least, depending on where she was heading and how fast she got there.

As a matter of fact...

She knew not where she was going, but all that she knew was that she wanted to escape. To flee. If her father found out she was still alive...if _anyone _knew she lived, not only will she never see the end of it, but she'll still have to marry Hahn.

And she didn't want that.

Her time with Sokka had been short, but she picked up a few things from him and his friends. Like how to be sneaky. And to discover other shortcuts to the sea...

As quietly as she could muster, she climbed into the shabby, wooden boat, and pushed herself off the ice. The night air was bitter, Frost biting her nose, but she didn't care. All she had were the clothes on her back and the necessities to stay clean. This was all she needed. Her baby blue eyes stayed glued to the place she once called her home.

Hopefully, she thought, there might even be a familiar face along the way...

At least...she still hoped.

Now, almost two weeks later, an exhausted Yue trudged through the dark forest; she let the moon guide her, trusting the lit path that she walked on. The climate was warmer here, so her sleeves were shed, feet bare as they got dirty and rough from the ground. She had been keeping on the low, making trades for Earth Kingdom currency.

She didn't know where she was, and it was beginning to scare her.

Her legs grew wobbly. Breathing became heavy and hard to handle. But she fought on until she saw something strange.

A wall.

A line of refugees.

This was her chance.

She had fit in perfectly, following a family of four into the bus. Once sitting, she finally had the chance to lean back and doze off...just for a moment...

* * *

"This is a bad idea, Uncle."

"Shh, Nephew. Be careful with her and keep your voice down..."

"_I don't wanna keep my voice down!"_

"Shh!"

The young man cursed under his breath as his uncle slid the door open.

"If it weren't for you, she probably would've been kidnapped."

"I'm surprised the girl _slept _through all that."

"She seems to have been traveling for quite some time..."

A deep sigh. "Where do you want her?"

"Right over here. Easy now, Zuko...slow, gently..."

Zuko set the girl down on the couch, folding his arms over his chest. Iroh rubbed his beard in thought.

"Now what?"

Iroh smiled, and Zuko retreated a step; something about his uncle's smile made him feel uneasy and suspicious. When Uncle didn't answer, Zuko sighed once more before lifting a foot and nudging the slumbering girl in her hip.

"Nephew!" Iroh scolded as she shifted.

"What?" Zuko asked innocently, Iroh glowering at him. "Oh fine!"

Zuko poked her.

She didn't move.

So he poked her again.

And she still didn't move.

Zuko inhaled sharply, fire blasting out of his mouth-"WAKE UP, ALREADY!"

Yue jumped and screamed a little; eyes wide, she looked wildly around the room before her eyes settled on the fuming boy and the older, chubbier man. Something about the boy made him look very familiar...

And then it clicked.

He was the guy who tried to kidnap Aang!

"It's alright, young lady," Iroh told her in his comforting tone. "You're safe."

"Safe? When was I not?" Yue questioned him as she sat up straighter; the elderly man somehow made her feel a little bit better. He reminded her a lot of her grandfather and her mother.

Iroh went to the kitchen for a brief moment, returning with a hot cup of tea. Yue didn't realize she was that thirsty, taking the cup with gratitude. She took a careful sip, then took a larger amount.

"Let's say that you were lucky that my nephew and I found you," said Iroh.

"Where was I?"

Zuko could tell she wasn't gonna let this go.

Uncle nudged him.

Zuko groaned, "A couple of dirty bastards found you on the bus and decided they were gonna have their way with you. Since you're annoyingly unaware of your surroundings when you sleep, they were able to carry you all the way down here-which is where I saw them."

Yue drank some more of the warm beverage, heartbeat quickening. "Where are they now?"

"Right now?" She nodded, and he shrugged. "Probably an infirmary."

"Zuko..." Iroh started, but she saw the old man fighting a smile with difficult.

Zuko snorted.

"...Zuko's your name?"

Caught off guard from her first question exactly directed towards him, Zuko stammered out, "U-Uh...I kinda go by Lee now. But yeah. Uh, hi."

Yue giggled some. His awkwardness was adorable.

"And I am Iroh, but around here you can call me Mushi."

Yue smiled. "Lee and Mushi...lovely names. Are you on the run too?"

"You can say that, Princess," Iroh replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Zuko did a double take. "Wait a minute. _Princess?"_

"Indeed. She is Princess Yue from the Northern Water Tribe."

Zuko blinked.

"HOW IN THE HELL ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD?!"

* * *

**I think Zuko is everyone's spirit animal in this chapter :P**

**Review? :)**


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